Tuesday

Jul 30, 2013 at 6:53 PM

The CW is one step closer to bringing together the Justice League!The network is developing Flash, a spin-off of Arrow which will feature speedy superhero Barry Allen. The character will be introduced in a backdoor pilot on Arrow during Season ...

The CW is one step closer to bringing together the Justice League!

The network is developing Flash, a spin-off of Arrow which will feature speedy superhero Barry Allen. The character will be introduced in a backdoor pilot on Arrow during Season 2 before potentially spinning off into his own series.

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"We plan to introduce a recurring character and an origin story of Dr. Barry Allen, who you now know is the Flash," CW President Mark Pedowitz told reporters at the Television Critics Association fall TV previews on Tuesday. "We're planning an origin story, we'll see how it goes and hopefully it goes well. We do want to expand on the DC universe. We've got rich characters that we can use and we thought this was a very organic way to get there."

Arrow executive producers Greg Berlanti and Andrew Kreisberg will executive-produce the project alongside DC Entertainment's Geoff Johns. David Nutter, who helmed the Arrow pilot, has signed on to direct the backdoor pilot. Marc Guggenheim, also an executive producer on Arrow, will not be involved with Flash.

Given that Arrow has kept its characters grounded in reality, it comes as a surprise that a character who possesses super-speed and superhuman reflexes would be introduced. "Remember, it's an origin story, so he may not come in with superpowers," Pedowitz said, adding that they're just beginning to cast the role.

With Flash, the network has now assembled two of the main seven members of the Justice League, including Green Arrow (Stephen Amell's Oliver Queen) from the flagship series. Last year, the network developed a Wonder Woman origin series, which would've been called Amazon, but the project is currently on hold. The CW was also the home to Clark Kent's Superman, though Smallville and Arrow do not hail from the same universe since the Green Arrow was played by Justin Hartley on the former series.

Flash would be the third spin-off for the network. The Vampire Diaries is launching the new series The Originals this season, while a backdoor pilot is being developed to spin off the long-running Supernatural.

Arrow returns Wednesday, Oct. 9 at 8/7c on The CW. (Full disclosure: TVGuide.com is owned by CBS, one of The CW's parent companies)

View original The CW Developing Arrow Spin-Off to Feature the Flash at TVGuide.com